The next great veggie adventure for Tahrea

As I delve deeper into the world of vegetarianism, I realize I have reached a plateau in my endeavors. I've reached the goals I had previously set. Or so I thought. For the past couple of years, I have said that I wanted to grow my own garden, planting various veggies and fruits that I eat on a regular basis.... buuuut I haven't really gotten around to so much as looking at a spade or hoe or whatever thingamajig one uses to create a garden (Yeah, I'm giggling because I said "hoe"). Within the last week, I revisited the idea and I haven't been able to really get it off of my mind. With that constant nagging feeling also came a sort of paranoia and annoyance with food cost (along with the cost of everything else) on the rise. I am infuriated that vegetables cost more than junk food, and that no one (in our government or in any of the institutions that were created to help us be healthy and eat safe and well inspected foods) really cares at all for our health and safety. I am tired of the growing fear of consuming a fruit or vegetable that might be contaminated, or that my father will keel over with E. coli, carried by a partially cooked patty of meat. BUT I digress...

SO, my first step is to establish where on the land I will plant said garden. Since it's almost spring and I think we may be in the clear as far as frost goes, I need to act fast. I will be doing some gardening research and taking advice from viable resources, and documenting the journey. :o)

Let's see how green my thumbs can be, shall we?

 http://www.ehow.com/how_6696690_plant-garden-central-ohio.html
http://squarefoot.creatingforum.com/t5373-planting-calendar-for-central-ohio
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html

My lunch today and a little insight

After church, I was so hungry. I was tempted to hurl myself into the first Fast Food drive thru line for some fries or a sad excuse for a salad. However, I was strong. I waited until I got home. And I rummaged through the fridge and cabinets and found my lunch there. It was so delicious, I wanted to share it. :o)

I gathered some asparagus, potatoes, a garlic clove, and about a 1/6 of an onion (the onion was sliced up from a previous meal). 

After that, chopped up the onion and garlic, and threw them in some Olive Oil over the stove. While they got all hot and sizzly, I chopped the asparagus in thirds and sliced up the potatoes. Then I threw them in the skillet and started to stir the lot up.

 

I added some Black Pepper To the mix and stir/tossed it about for bit. 

I like 'em to be crispy, so I ended up getting some black spots where they had burnt, lol. 

I then placed some of the veggies on a plate and, just to experiment, I sprinkled some Feta Cheese on top (I love Feta). I had a mandarin orange on the side, just 'cause. :o)

So many times people ask me what it is  I eat, since I'm a vegetarian, and I laugh at them. There is more to this world than meat, processed foods, fast food, and pop (or soda). I'm not trying to sound all high and mighty, holier-than-thou, but there is something to be said for finding alternative means of feeding and fueling yourself. Someone once shared with me the phrase "We eat to live; we do not live to eat." It sad but I know that there are people out there in this world who do live to eat, for whatever reason. I feel sorry for those people. 

     I know it is a pain to have to prepare a meal or a dish when you know a vegetarian is in the room. I can suck to have to put with a vegetarian, especially those who do it for animal rights. They are the worst! I did it for my health, and to challenge myself. I suddenly found myself at a point in my life where I had just cut a major meat eater out of my life and I was looking for a healthier lifestyle for myself. Vegetarianism was something in which I had always been interested and that was the perfect time to try it. Almost two years later, I don't regret it. I have lost a significant amount of weight and I look forward to losing more as I gain more insight on how to eat better.